Shapiro Interview

The creator of the show, Arnold Shapiro is interviewed by Senior VP of Programming at A&E. The interview is split into two parts. It is a question and answer session where Shapiro answers questions asked by the fans of the show. A few of the questions that I’ve had about the show are answered, such as what do the inmates get for participating in the “scared straight” programs and how real is the show? According to Shapiro, the inmates volunteer to speak with the teens and they receive no perks for participating; they do not get monetary gain or time taken off their sentence. Shapiro also states that he and his crew are simply there to capture what regularly goes on during these sessions. No one is given a script or asked to act in a particular way. Shapiro states during his interview that Beyond Scared Straight is “a documentary, not an exploiting reality show.”